Making Eleanor St a 20mph limit is a small step in the right direction, but without cameras & other improvements it’s something of a waste of time. Virtually no-one is respecting the new speed limit. I doubt many drivers have even seen the signs.

However, the speed of traffic there is not the only problem. Firstly, there’s no room for cyclists heading away from the town centre. Traffic squeezes past you dangerously close. And secondly, heading into the town centre is dangerous becausealthough there is a painted-on lane it’s not physically separated from the oncoming traffic. Additionally, the road surface is rough and uncomfortable for cycling on.

So, to make it a cycling-friendly route make it one lane of traffic with two physically segregated cycle lanes either side, surfaced with smooth asphalt. Traffic approaching Hainton Square on Ellis Way (arriving from Asda/town centre) does so in two lanes. Make the left hand lane a left turn for Freeman St or straight on into Eleanor St. Make the right hand lane a right turn only into Hainton Ave. This leaves just the one lane for motor traffic on Eleanor St.

By then adding a speed camera on Eleanor St the new 20mph limit would be enforced, making it a safe route for cyclists. This is a major route to & from the town centre for cyclists so please make it safe to cycle on. Just sticking 20mph signs up is not a solution!

Like this:

It’s important to bear in mind this proposal is designed for enabling the majority of people in NE Lincs to use a bike instead of a car for everyday local transport, as well as commuting to the main industrial areas along the Humber bank.

This means literally thousands of people cycling every day! The proposal isn’t to accommodate present levels of cycling. As discussed in the earlier Vision posts, people don’t cycle at present because it’s perceived as being unsafe, uncomfortable and inconvenient. By making it safe, comfortable and convenient, as well as low-cost, healthy and enjoyable, I believe literally thousands of people would cycle instead of drive. The aim of this proposal is to get the majority of people making the majority of their local journeys by bike instead of car.

The Tube could enter into Freshney Place parking area directly. Image from velo-city.ca

In the proposal, the centre of Grimsby the section has five junctions: Welholme, Grimsby train station, Cromwell Road, Ellis Way and Freshney Place. The junction at Freshney Place is unique in that it runs into the building itself at the first (or second) floor level. There would be no need for entry/exit ramps. That entire floor would be given over to cycle parking instead of car parking. The number of bikes that could be parked there would be in the region of 25 times the number of cars that presently park on that floor (ten bikes fit in one car space, which would be double stacked, plus extra space for bikes due to less space taken by access space).

The whole idea of the Bike Tube is to make it safe, comfortable and convenient for people who currently wouldn’t consider cycling to use bikes for their everyday transport. That’s the majority of people living in NE Lincs! The prospect of being able to cycle straight into the shopping centre directly from the Bike Tube increases the convenience and practicality of the scheme to such people. This would also provide secure bike parking for other users, not just shoppers, those coming into town to work, for instance. The present parking facility at the Cycle Hub would be wholly insufficient hence the parking in Freshney Place, but the Cycle Hub at the train station could be expanded to provide increased facilities to the town centre south area.

Likewise there would be junctions at each of the main superstores, with the exception of Sainsbury’s (unless the Tube could be routed across Corporation Rd Bridge with a junction at Sainsbury’s then on to Freshney Place, instead of directly from Asda to Freshney Place).

Another aspect of the Tube concerns the dock areas in Grimsby and Immingham. Because the Tube is enclosed and secure, there is no security issue for the dock operators as people can only enter or exit at the junctions, as on a normal motorway. Hence, the Tube could be routed through dock areas (with all the necessary permissions and agreements, of course) with no security issues. The route which crosses the lock at Lock Hill in Grimsby would need to be sufficiently high as to ensure the passage of all vessels through the lock. At Immingham Dock, if the Tube is routed through the dock and featured a junction there (I believe there should be access there as it is an area of major employment), there could be a new security gate at this junction to deal entirely with cyclists arriving/leaving the dock.

Nomenclature and Junctions

A map of the proposed Bike Tube network in Grimsby and Cleethorpes.

If we were to number the Tube sections following the motorway numbering convention, then we could number the Grimsby/Cleethorpes area as follows:

T1: Meridian Point to Europarc (and on to Humber Sea Terminal (HST), at Killingholme)

Like this:

Part of the route for commuting between Grimsby and Immingham brings you to the A180 at the roundabout with Moody Lane and Pyewipe/Boulevard Ave.

The pathway from Adam Smith St leading to the roundabout.

The pathway on Moody Lane is signed as a shared pedestrian/cycle path, but actually getting across the A180 is extremely dangerous! There’s no priority for cyclists or pedestrians, and you usually have to rely on the goodwill of drivers to get across.

It’s even harder getting across the carriageway coming off the roundabout!

This route is important for access onto Moody Lane and the sea wall. By making a number of alerations, crossing the A180 could be made much safer. Instead of putting a crossing point at the roundabout, move it away from the roundabout approximately level with where the pathway exits from Adam Smith St further along the road.

The pathway leading from Adam Smith St.

Put the crossing here, with stopping lights in order to enable crossing the A180.

Taking the example of Hull’s through-road, this stretch of the A180 should have a speed limit of 40mph. This would make a stopping point (Pelican/Toucan) on this stretch perfectly practical for motorists, as they would already be travelling at a reduced maximum speed, unlike the 60mph which is currently allowed.

On the other side the crossing would connect with a new cycle path coming from the Grimsby docks area (as suggested in another post here), which would lead to Moody Lane.

This solution would enable commuters to safely cross this dual-carriageway. The present arrangement is hazardous and unsafe.

Like this:

You wouldn’t dress like a Formula One driver for the morning commute, so there’s no need to get kitted up for the Tour de France just because you’re riding to work!

You don’t need to spend a fortune, or be clad in head-to-toe lycra, to be a cycle commuter. The simple fact is: everyday cyclists wear everyday clothes. Check out the Copenhagen Cycle Chic website for proof – and inspiration!

Share this:

Like this:

This is a prime route for people living in Grimsby/Cleethorpes who work in Immingham or the Humber bank factories (or for those who live in Immingham and work in Grimsby, of course). I, like those few others who currently cycle this route, use the sea wall, getting on to it at Moody Lane, and coming off it near the East Gate, on Laporte Road.

The sea wall is OK, at least there’s very little motor traffic there, but it’s bumpy, uncomfortable, unlit at night, involves cycling on rough gravel tracks, is exposed to the wind and weather coming off the sea and is not as direct as it could be. Over the last several years, it’s also been closed for long periods (several weeks at a time) when environmental work has been conducted along the coast or at the pumping stations.

A section of the sea wall, showing the rutted and broken surface.

The gravel track coming off the sea wall near the East Gate of Immingham Docks.

There is an obvious improvement that could be made on this key route. Laporte Rd becomes Hobson Way at the roundabout with Kiln Lane, and this road continues towards Grimsby until it suddenly ends in a dead end!

Hobson Way, looking towards Grimsby…..

However, a couple of hundred yards or so further on, this is where it suddenly ends!

…stopped in it’s tracks…

…by a humble drainage ditch!

However, just a couple of hundred yards or so further on again is Moody Lane, the section that passes Blue Star Fibres and feeds in to the Moody Lane/Woad lane junction at Novatis.

The junction of Moody Lane with Woad Lane

If a cycle path was built linking Hobson Way with Moody Lane, there would be a direct cycle commute route from Grimsby to the main industrial areas of Immingham and the Humber bank factories. Obviously, this is where many people from the Grimsby area work, so by building this link path it would, for the first time, provide a dedicated cycling path from Grimsby to Immingham, and I’m certain it would enable and encourage many more cycling commuters to use it!

Problem: No dedicated cycling route from Grimsby to Immingham. The sea wall is inadequate in many respects (see above) and serves as a deterrent to many from cycling to work.

Like this:

This week saw the opening of the Cycle Hub at Grimsby train station. It’s a wonderful facility including secure parking for your bike, a shower room and toilets, and a workshop so you can get your bike fixed while you’re out and about in town!

For the cost of parking your car in town for an hour you can securely park your bike indoors all day! All the more reason to cycle into town rather than getting in your car. Or if you’ve been wanting to cycle to work but the lack of facilities have put you off, well now you have those facilities! There are special longer term rates for commuters working in central Grimsby.